Also, I have a general question. If unit characteristics are not in mods files I assume they are in the basic game code. Is that a correct assumption? However, if I could get the correct template for the MD files for these units then I could mod them via the mods files I assume.

You didn't specify which characteristics. So which one's were you looking for?

No, Davout did the AI for OCMod. I don't propose to change it. My focus is Multiplayer. To be honest I don't care about the AI in OC Mod. That's not the same as saying I don't care about AI . However, RTS AI needs a whole new approach. I talk about that in my second RTS paper.

You didn't specify which characteristics. So which one's were you looking for?

LOL. You keep pulling me up for imprecision. More power to you mate! I deserve to be pulled up for imprecision.

Let's take an example of a characteristic I am interested in. This is a unit characteristic (not building characteristic) which for want of a better term I will call "elbow room". We will leave the term "footprint" for buildings and structures. "Elbow room" is how much space an individual unit needs before it impinges on, impedes, pushes or displaces another unit.

The Cossacks 1 / OC Mod engine has an interesting implementation of "elbow room" (like many other RTS games). The "elbow room" of units is very small. Witness how formations clump when in a fire fight. Their assume formation "elbow room" is not their true individual "elbow room" as proven by the clumping effects. Also we can see cannon arrving at a gather point and the following happens. The "elbow room" of the cannon is smaller than their graphical depiction. When they "mill about" their graphic representations appear to pass through each other.

What paramater or parameters control(s) the physical space "elbow room" of units? For example, if I wanted to set the physical space occupation or "elbow room" of cannon so that their graphical depictions do not appear to ever impinge, how would I do it? If I wanted to set the physical space occupation or "elbow room" of troops so they would clump little more than their standard formation settings, how would I do it?

Now, I realise changing these parameters could cause serious logjams when moving troops especially through other formations or through gates and narrow passes. But I would like to able to play with these parameters to find the best compromise for my purposes. I get particularly annoyed at the way already dense formations clump or crush when engaged in fights. This clumping or crushing renders them inordinately vulnerable to area damage weapons like cannon and howitzers. At the same time, it has to be admitted that the clumping concentrates the fire power of formations, especially column formations. The OC Mod implementation does not model casualties from friendly fire from muskets, so firing through friendly troops happens all the time. This isunlike Imperia for example which does model friendly fire casualties.

A Second Question on Cannon is this. I haven't quite figured out what all the cannon files are in OC Mod. Here is what I have figured out plus some gaps. Can you fill in the gaps?

Right. Interesting question there about elbow room. Never really looked into it. I would have said its the MD string GEOMETRY, the first 2 paramenters (reads as radius 1 and 2), but its mostlikely not this. There's another string LOCATION that reads as preventing 'an entity' from going trough it, and collaborates with CHECKPOINTS. Thing is I cant find any unit using it, only buildings. It states pairs of x and y points on the graphic to determine what space it occupies. Worth a try for sure. Just by thinking about it its probably not very practical to use these on units since they are much smaller than buildings. There's room for some error when setting these points up on buildings. With units chances are the points will be highly inaccurate. (Box too big or too small). If it's attempted one would have to load the graphic of the unit into this MD tool ( http://cossacksworld.ucoz.co.uk/load/md_editing_tool/1-1-0-149 ) and then read of the x and y coordinates. But as I said units dont have these so some other string is telling how large units are, which is why I thought GEOMETRY at first. Its not very likely the engine defaults it, since horses are bigger than regular units. It wouldnt know the difference , but thats just a guess. I would have to look for it specifically, but there's only so many things I can do in a day. As i said , interesting question.

Ah, PUSC.MD is obviously the Coventar (Scottish) 17th cannon. I should have thought of that. PUS2.MD by the look of it is the turbans' 18th cannon but I will have to check that.

The elbow room issue is a tricky. Crushes did actually happen in 18th C war and cannon did wreak great carnage firing into them. So accepting the crush effects is not actually that unrealistic. I'd just like to be able to tone them down a little. But I am working with a "balance what's easy and leave the rest" approach with rebalancing OC Mod. As a learner, I am tackling the easy stuff first.

I was a self-taught programmer many years ago but I gave up by the time the C language came along. I used to program in Turbo Pascal. I once wrote a chess program that worked OK except there was a bug where a Bishop trapped on the edge of the board would pop up on the other side of the board! Clearly it was a wrap-round array problem. I am not sure I want to learn full programming again (at 59). I am more interested in promoting good concept design. Actual programming is for the young turks.